In the week ahead, look for the fight over net neutrality to heat up

The Federal Communications Commission building in Washington. The FCC is expected in this coming week to release details of a proposal to roll back Obama-era measures, known as “net neutrality” rules, which were designed to keep phone and cable giants from favoring their own internet services and apps. The FCC chief, Ajit Pai, wants to cut regulations that he believes are holding back faster, cheaper internet. Andrew HarnikAP file/June 19, 2015

The Federal Communications Commission building in Washington. The FCC is expected in this coming week to release details of a proposal to roll back Obama-era measures, known as “net neutrality” rules, which were designed to keep phone and cable giants from favoring their own internet services and apps. The FCC chief, Ajit Pai, wants to cut regulations that he believes are holding back faster, cheaper internet. Andrew HarnikAP file/June 19, 2015

President Donald Trump’s deregulation efforts have touched the cars and trucks Americans may buy in the years ahead, how the electricity in our homes and businesses is generated and, in the week ahead, how we connect to the internet.

According to multiple media reports, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to release details of a proposal to end net neutrality, as we know it today. Net neutrality is the requirement that internet service providers treat all online traffic the same. It bans companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from offering special fast lanes for preferred customers. Amazon can’t pay a fee to internet providers prioritizing its movie stream over, say, a local craft store.

When an Obama-era FCC first instituted the net neutrality rule, it based its decision on the ability of the agency to regulate internet providers like utilities. Throwing out that foundation, as next week’s plan may do, could scuttle efforts to have internet providers be more transparent and responsive when their service goes out. How important is this? Just ask the millions of customers left offline for days and weeks in Texas and Florida after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. With companies relying on the internet to process credit and debit cards, communicate with vendors and manage payroll, going offline is expensive.

The stakes over neutrality are big for the internet providers. Wiping away the requirement could allow them to create tiered pricing and open new revenue possibilities. But it also may bring the threat of state-level rules, further complicating compliance and raising costs. The Trump administration has been successful already in turning over broadband privacy rules enacted by the Obama administration. The original rule would have required internet service providers to get their customers’ OK to share browsing history and other private online data. It never went into effect, and it won’t. Doing away with the privacy rules doesn’t mean companies can buy your browser history by name. But they can know the type of person you are and the types of places you go online.